Revolution if people not provided education

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said if we did not provide resources for provision of education, treatment and other basic facilities to the people then God forbid bloody revolution will ruin everything. He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony held to launch scholarships under Punjab Educational Endowment Fund at Aiwan-e-Iqbal here on Saturday in which scholarships were distributed among the students holding outstanding positions in various examinations of Lahore Division. Senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed, Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Provincial Minister for Education Mian Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, members national and provincial assembly and other senior officers besides vice chancellors, principals of the colleges, headmasters of schools, teachers, parents and a large number of male and female students were also present on the occasion. The chief minister said that establishment of Punjab Educational Endowment Fund was a revolutionary programme of the government aimed at provision of equal facilities of higher education to the intelligent and deserving male and female students. He said that initially Punjab Educational Endowment Fund had been set up with Rs 2 billion and by the end of this month, after the approval of budget Rs 2 billion would be added to this fund. He said this increase would be made in this fund every year and after five years this fund will reach Rs 10 billion. He said that 5,000 scholarships were being given to talented male and female students acquiring prominent positions in the examinations of 2008 while 5,000 position-holder students of examination 2009 will be awarded scholarships by the end of this year. He said in the coming days lakhs of students would benefit from this fund. He said Punjab had always kept its doors open for the whole country that was why quota for other provinces had also been fixed in these scholarships. Along with Punjab, talented students from Sindh, NWFP, Balochistan, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and FATA will also benefit and number of scholarships allocated for the students of Balochistan has been doubled to 126. He said Punjab Educational Endowment Fund had been established for those students who had been forced to discontinue their studies due to non-availability of resources. He said that this educational fund was the continuity of Ali Garh Movement which will help secure the future of talented students of deserving families. The chief minister said that it was our commitment with the nine crore people of the province that the government will bring a revolution of prosperity in five years, the dream of which was envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam and Allam Iqbal. He said that poor people had as much right on the resources as of elite, therefore, Danish Schools were being set up in the backward areas of the province on the pattern of big cities where best educational facilities were being made available along with boarding and lodging. He said that 60,000 computers worth Rs.5 billion were being provided in schools for equipping builders of the future with the latest knowledge. He said that guard of honour was presented to the students displaying outstanding performance in the examinations for their encouragement and recreational arrangements were made for them in Muree but this year students showing outstanding performance in the examinations will stay at Governors House, Murree, where they will be accorded protocol equal to that of President, Prime Minister and Governor. He said that students would also be sent to higher educational institutions of Britain, Germany and other countries to witness educational facilities there. He stressed upon the politicians, assembly members, teachers and all sections of the society to take keen interest in the improvement of educational facilities in their respective areas. Earlier, the chief minister distributed scholarships among male and female students belonging to four districts of Lahore division acquiring prominent positions in the examinations. President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mian Muzaffar Ali presented Rs 1 million for Punjab Educational Endowment Fund while Headmaster Divisional Public School Model Town, Lahore, presented a cheque of Rs 0.6 million on behalf of students for the Swat affectees.